Memphis on My Mind… Memphis is now 65% Black. Our family moved into a hardscrabble area of Cleveland that was, at least, 50% Black. We moved there to do outreach volunteer work with a group called the “Catholic Workers.” And we were there for some five years. Many people in this part of Cleveland, like, I’m sure in Memphis, are trapped in trans-generational poverty loops. What’s more, kids down there are faced with trying, daily, to dodge hunger, needles and bullets. It’s a systemic problem that needs a systemic solution, not just social service Band-Aids. Our campaign has not only thought hard about the situation, we have, again, lived in the midst of it. Our position paper provides a multi-dimensional approach to the real solution to all this.
Smart policing
Smart policing. On a micro-level, each community, in large part, is responsible for its own safety. And the police in Ada, Ohio, have come up with a common-sense strategy to enhance safety in that village. They just put in two speed radar signs at the village limits on major roads coming into town. The police chief told me that this, in fact, does two things. One, a good number of motorists slow down when they see their digital speed. And two, instead of having squad cars regularly posted at each of these locations, police are now freed up to do more of other sorts of policing throughout the village. Note: Ada also has a SAFER Program, which is part of a Community Oriented Policing model. Liaisons, through regular meetings, and such, are established between village residents, businesses, school officials and the police. The synergy of these groups working together has created, well, a much ‘safer’ environment here. Note 2: Our campaign is big on backing Community Oriented Policing programs. See our position paper on crime…
Winter bicycling?
If we are serious about reducing our carbon footprints, we have to change our individual lifestyle patterns and, basically, get tougher in some areas. I, for instance, ride my mountain bicycle around town about 50% of the time — during winter. What’s more, I interviewed our local bicycle store owner for an article on “winter bicycling,” and he said with the proper thermal attire, studded tires, fat tires, and the like, winter biking is, indeed, quite doable. We keep pointing at the next Climate Summit emission reduction promises, which we should. But pointing at these, we have to also realize there are three fingers (Covered with thermal bicycle gloves, hopefully.) pointing back at us. Incidentally, as president, I’ll be bicycling around DC in the winter as well. And won’t that be fun for the Secret Service. LOL. Can’t you just hear that: “He’s going to do what?”
eco-webs and ‘stealing’
I was doing some research this afternoon, in the context of how man-made pollution is disrupting “eco-webs.” And, as this diagram illustrates: “…energy moves through an eco-system in a complex network of feeding relationships called a food web.” God has set it up this way. The above illustration is particularly about ocean life and the healthy balance needed to maintain this eco-system. However, massive amounts of toxic chemical farm run-off, massive amounts of plastics, and so on, are being injected into this eco-system, majorly affecting the balance. And coupled with this, when it comes to the oceans, there’s a massive amount of over-fishing as well. Disrupting these balances, on these levels, are having major consequences now, and potentially catastrophic consequences for generations to come. Psalm 14:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” We are like teenagers trashing one of the rooms (the earth) in God’s universe. What’s more, the Catholic Catechism draws the 7th Commandment into this mix: “Thou shalt not steal.” The Catechism notes that we are “…to have concern for the quality of life of our neighbors, including generations to come.” We are, in essence, in the above illustration: stealing clean water. That simple, and that sinful. For more on our stance on the environment, see…
Ethical global trade…
In doing a series of stories about small, local businesses, one of the ones I focused on was Ten Thousand Villages. Ten Thousand Villages (there are 100 stores nationwide) contracts with Third World artisans and offers them, not sub-standard, but rather “fair” prices for their products. In “caring for the earth,” Ten Thousand Villages often contracts with artisans who use locally sourced, recycled and renewable resources. Ten Thousand Villages is non-profit, and also often contracts with the disabled, women, “…and others often excluded from the global economy.” The store manager noted that the organization provides 50% of the purchase price up-front to artisans for materials, and such — because often these people can’t get small business loans from their local banks. What’s more, the other 50% is paid when the product is complete — whether it sells, or not. Note: Our administration’s global trade policies, in part, would embody this kind of ethos, simply because it makes ethical/spiritual sense.
‘We put the outing in scouting’
I just interviewed a local Scoutmaster for a newspaper article about his troop. His standard sound byte is: “We put the outing in scouting.” He said once a month, the troop goes camping as one, of many, scouting activities. He said it’s good to regularly get kids “…off screens and out into nature.” I agree. During our travels, we met with David Orr, who was the head of Oberlin College’s Environmental Science Department at the time, and also an author. Among a number of books, he wrote: Earth in the Balance. He said many kids, and adults, these days, have developed “bio-phobia.” And, often, the closest they get to nature are things like: The Weather Channel. Our position paper on the environment is a structured set of strategies revolving around emphasizing the importance of nature, in all it’s dimensions.
Thanksgiving 2022 goes ‘…back to normal’
I just did a newspaper article about a local community center that puts on an annual Thanksgiving Dinner event. Attendance this year, according to the director, broke all kinds of records. The director surmised ‘inflation creep,’ number one, is attributable, to the rise in attendance. And two, after all the Covid lockdowns/restrictions the past two years in this country, she said people simply like “…getting out again.” In fact, she continued, the laughter, the smiles, the conversations in general at the tables, were quite poignant to her. And on a contemporary affairs front, it’s not hard to seen why the protests over stringent (Zero Covid Policy) lockdowns in China are erupting. As president, I would stand with the general populace in China — unlike what the current U.S. administration is doing. Human rights should always trump trade concerns, and so on. Especially if you’re coming at it from a spiritual angle.
…and if we did talk to God
If we were, sincerely, ‘talking to God’ as a country: abortion would end; the Marriage Equality Bill currently being pushed in the Senate would fail; the breakdown of the nuclear family would, well, stop breaking down… And I’m just scratching the surface. Incidentally, Donald Trump declared to run for president again last night at his Mar-a-Lago resort. He’s not the answer. Biden is not the answer either. That is, if we want the country to align with the things of God across the board. Our campaign, while not perfect, comes way closer to the answer for that. Just sayin’. See…
Veterans Day 2022
*Veterans Day. Towns across America are adopting the “Military Banner Project.” And I am totally on board with this project. These men and women were/are willing to make the “ultimate sacrifice.” They should be ‘front and center’ in our communities. As we should be ‘front and center’ in helping them, not only in the service, but when they get out. There are, indeed, some good Veterans programs. But there, most assuredly, needs to be more. One newscaster today said that 17 Veterans take their lives every day now. And some 33,000 Veterans are currently homeless. Our position paper on the Military addresses this in Section 11. Note: We have traveled the country extensively interviewing Veterans in crafting part of the latter position paper.
REARRANGING DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC
A TV newscaster last night said that with Mid-terms 2022 now in the rearview mirror (sans, of course, several ongoing “toss-up” races), the Campaign 2024 presidential race now “officially” begins. Huh. I wish someone would have told me that. I’ve been campaigning, on and off, the whole last year, at least. I really need some campaign consultants! LOL. Incidentally, and on a more serious side, our positions spin around: “uncommon common sense.” (You read that right.) And if you ‘read’ our positions, you’ll see what I mean. What’s more, you’ll see that what we propose is pretty much the only hope for America now. Again, seriously. Most everything else coming out of DC at this point is metaphorically synonymous with: REARRANGING DECK CHAIRS ON THE TITANIC!!!